Archive for December 14th, 2008

What a farewell to President Bush – getting shoes thown at you. But isn’t that what the radical Jihadists want to show – disdain for President Bush since they could not defeat him or the United States in Iraq?

Welcome to Baghdad. An Iraqi reporter set off pandemonium Sunday by hurling two shoes at President Bush during a news conference that was the centerpiece of his secret goodbye visit.

Bush was cool under fire and prevented an even bigger incident by waving off his lead Secret Service agent, who was prepared to extract him from the room.

Video shows the president’s lead agent rushing to the podium, but the president immediately and subtly motions to him that it’s OK. The agent backs off.

The president successfully ducked both throws. Photos show him with his head down near the top of the podium. The embarrassing incident marred a visit meant to show off the improved conditions since the troop “surge” dramatically reduced casualties to U.S. troops.

“This is a gift from the Iraqis. This is the farewell kiss, you dog,” the journalist shouted (in Arabic), Steven Lee Myers of The New York Times reported in a pool report to the White House press corps.

Myers reported that the man threw the second shoe and added: “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq.”

Here is the video:

As was described in the video above White House Press Secretary Dana Perino received a microphone in the eye and has a shiner. The Secret Service who were apparently in the other room eating donuts also received a black eye because they were nowhere to be found. Secret Service = disgraceful in this case.

Michelle Malkin has more on the journalist, Muntazer al-Zaidi, a correspondent for the independent al- Baghdadiya television station. Whoever this jerk works for will award him a medal.

Flap wonders if the President-Elect will make a comment? So, far crickets.

Illinois Republican Party leaders are launching a television campaign to push their position that a special election should be called to fill the vacancy caused by President-elect Barack Obama’s depature, a move to prevent a Senate appointment by scandal-scarred Gov. Rod Blagojevich or Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn if he takes over the top job.

With Blagojevich hanging onto office despite last week’s arrest in a corruption case, Republicans are seek to seiz the political advantage of a reeling state government headed by Democrats at every level.

“Blagojevich Democrats like Pat Quinn did nothing to stand up to Governor Blagojevich and his ethical lapses,” said Joe Birkett, the DuPage County state’s attorney.

Birkett questioned why “Pat Quinn stood silent” when they ran together in 2006, when it was known that Blagojevich was the “eye of the storm”

When the people needed somebody in Illinois to stand up, Pat Quinn stayed in his seat,” Birkett said.

Of course, there should be a secial election after all of this drama with Governor Hot Rod Blagojevich’s arrest for trying to sell the seat. The Illinois Legislature which has been called back into special session tomorrow should first impeach Blagojevich’s ass and then write legislation making a special election possible.

Will the GOP have an advantage?

Yes, a slight one since Hot Rod’s corruption will be fresh in voter’s minds. But, the real winners here will be the people of Illinois.

Fox News Chicago reported that Mr Emanuel, a Chicago politician who won the Illinois Governorâ€™s former congressional seat, may have been captured on FBI wire-taps discussing the fate of Mr Obamaâ€™s vacated US Senate seat with Rod Blagojevich.

The TV station said Mr Emanuel had â€œmultiple conversationsâ€ with the Governor, who is accused of trying to â€œsellâ€ the open Senate seat for a Cabinet post or lucrative top foundation job. The report said the Governor was given a list of Senate candidates acceptable to Mr Obama. Because the FBI was secretly taping Mr Blagojevich in recent weeks, Mr Emanuelâ€™s conversations may have been recorded, Fox News Chicago said.

No one with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team has identified his close friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett as Senate candidate #1, as mentioned in the criminal complaint against Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but it's clear that she is the person often mentioned.

There is a wide assumption by many that Jarrett "mysteriously" dropped out of the race for the U.S. Senate, and I've even heard some suggest that the Obama team got wind of Blagojevich's alleged scheme to broker a deal for the seat appointment.

But there is nothing mysterious about what happened.
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Hard to believe this story and time frame with all that has been revealed.

Here is the lie, which caught my eye because of the phrasing Obama was using during his press conference on Daschleâ€™s appointment:

â€œI had no contact with the governorâ€™s office. I did not speak to the governor about these issues. That I know for certain.â€

It is a lie because now we know Obamaâ€™s Chief of Staff provided Blagojevich Obamaâ€™s list of candidates he thought should fill his seat. The news broke last night:

Barack Obama, the next President of the United States, just wagged his finger into the camera and said â€œI had no conversations with that Governor, Blagojevich, on the candidates for my senate seatâ€™. Of course sending the list of candidates through Emmanual doesnâ€™t somehow count as â€˜conversation
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Indeed Obama was disingenuous about his statements and Rahm Emanuel is nothing but a bag man.

A nonprofit organization founded by California's largest union local reported spending nothing on its charitable purpose — to develop housing for low-income workers — during at least two of the four years it has been operating, federal records show.

The charity, launched by a scandal-ridden Los Angeles chapter of the Service Employees International Union, had total expenses of about $165,000 for 2005 and 2006, and all of the money went to consulting fees, insurance costs and other overhead, according to its Internal Revenue Service filings.
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Shocker: A corrupt labor union